Wow! So...hmmm...just saw it so I have to collect my thoughts as I watched it. (Sorry, I'm a bit shocked and trying to remember how I came about watching this in the first place).
First off, bravo to Annalynne McCord and Traci Lords for their acting in this movie. I never would have thought much of McCord after knowing her as being the blondie-vixen in the remake of the '90210' show if it wasn't for this, so good for her. Her character might as well have been the offspring of Napoleon Dynamite and a member of L7, after getting into her stash of zombie-face-makeup. The director, Richard Bates, Jr., must've seen this in her character, as well. I can almost hear the collective sigh of DVD-players all around shutting off after viewers may not get into her weirdo-delivery, though. Her delivery felt half-true and half-acted, at times, but it was enough for me to watch the entire film.
There is plenty of seemingly-tasteless material, which makes it seem as if Jon Waters wrote the movie, or maybe the director was a major fan of his because it seemed that scenes and dialogue were something that Waters would've dreamt up to see on screen at some time in his life. At least Bates Jr. had the conscience to put Lords and Waters in the movie together to reference Waters' material in a bit of homage, if nothing else. (I'm surprised a poster of Divine wasn't 'shopped into a picture frame on a wall somewhere in the movie.)
The music had a Mazzy Star-meets-Grrrl Rock vibe throughout, and the fantasy-moments in the movie had gritty experimental grinding guitars or something along those lines. The daydream-fantastical segments were brilliantly sequenced, even if they didn't completely mesh with her character, and the visual effects were interesting.
Some seem to think it's a bit of dark-comedy, and even the official website tries to crowbar their "instant cult classic" brand on the movie before the audience can make up it's mind about it. It's definitely horrific by the end, and if you use a movie like 'Happiness' or 'The Virgin Suicides' as a reference to this movie, you'd need to go past those by a step when it comes to its grittiness. I'm reminded of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' as I type this, which is down the same teenage-weirdo-gets-stabby vein of horror movies this falls under, but there were light-hearted moments to her character, which makes her climax seem a little "much."
In closing, I'd say if you're into horror or just weirdo cult movies with a bit of gore without being stupid, check it out. I think highly of the film, but I don't think I'd sit through it too many times (because once you know the end, it sort of prepares you for the worst during a rewatch). Music was good, performances were good, camera-shots were great, and direction was on-point...you just have to accept the characters.
First off, bravo to Annalynne McCord and Traci Lords for their acting in this movie. I never would have thought much of McCord after knowing her as being the blondie-vixen in the remake of the '90210' show if it wasn't for this, so good for her. Her character might as well have been the offspring of Napoleon Dynamite and a member of L7, after getting into her stash of zombie-face-makeup. The director, Richard Bates, Jr., must've seen this in her character, as well. I can almost hear the collective sigh of DVD-players all around shutting off after viewers may not get into her weirdo-delivery, though. Her delivery felt half-true and half-acted, at times, but it was enough for me to watch the entire film.
There is plenty of seemingly-tasteless material, which makes it seem as if Jon Waters wrote the movie, or maybe the director was a major fan of his because it seemed that scenes and dialogue were something that Waters would've dreamt up to see on screen at some time in his life. At least Bates Jr. had the conscience to put Lords and Waters in the movie together to reference Waters' material in a bit of homage, if nothing else. (I'm surprised a poster of Divine wasn't 'shopped into a picture frame on a wall somewhere in the movie.)
The music had a Mazzy Star-meets-Grrrl Rock vibe throughout, and the fantasy-moments in the movie had gritty experimental grinding guitars or something along those lines. The daydream-fantastical segments were brilliantly sequenced, even if they didn't completely mesh with her character, and the visual effects were interesting.
Some seem to think it's a bit of dark-comedy, and even the official website tries to crowbar their "instant cult classic" brand on the movie before the audience can make up it's mind about it. It's definitely horrific by the end, and if you use a movie like 'Happiness' or 'The Virgin Suicides' as a reference to this movie, you'd need to go past those by a step when it comes to its grittiness. I'm reminded of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' as I type this, which is down the same teenage-weirdo-gets-stabby vein of horror movies this falls under, but there were light-hearted moments to her character, which makes her climax seem a little "much."
In closing, I'd say if you're into horror or just weirdo cult movies with a bit of gore without being stupid, check it out. I think highly of the film, but I don't think I'd sit through it too many times (because once you know the end, it sort of prepares you for the worst during a rewatch). Music was good, performances were good, camera-shots were great, and direction was on-point...you just have to accept the characters.